(Open Poni discovers and presents-Reptiles) Print, laminate and cut out the various reptile identification cards. Present the different reptiles to your group. If you have a Poni puppet, use it to animate this activity. Ask children to name reptiles they are familiar with. Use illustrations and pictures to spark a conversation.

AREA SETUP

Educa-decorate-Reptiles

(Open educa-decorate-Reptiles) Print, cut out, and laminate. Use the illustrations to decorate your walls. Hang a few from the ceiling too, along with plastic reptiles and snakes. As you greet children in the morning, hand out jelly snakes.

PICTURE GAME

The pictures may be used as a memory game or to spark a conversation with the group. Use them to decorate the daycare or a specific thematic corner. (Open picture game-Reptiles) Print, laminate, and store in a “Ziploc” bag or in your thematic bins.

WRITING ACTIVITIES

Stationery-Reptiles

(Open stationery-Reptiles) Print and use the stationery to communicate with parents, in your reading and writing area, or to identify your thematic bins.

A marsh or forest: Arrange plastic plants to represent a marsh or forest. Add plastic animals and reptiles.

Costume bin: safari-type clothing, a hat, binoculars, etc.

Manipulation:

Memory game involving pictures of reptiles (educatall picture games).

Memory game, lotto game, or other board game involving reptiles.

Green and brown modeling dough for creating reptiles and representing their habitat.

Puzzles related to the theme.

Multicolored beads for creating colourful snakes.

Drawing:

Coloring pages related to the theme.

Creative coloring activities.

Offer green or brown paper instead of plain white paper.

Offer crayons that are not normally available such as waxed crayons or colored pencils.

Stencils for tracing reptile shapes.

Pre-reading:

Books about reptiles and their world.

A Franklin the Turtle movie.

A picture book with pictures of different reptiles. Old National Geographic magazines are packed with great pictures.

A poster representing different reptiles.

Pre-writing:

Activity sheets related to the theme.

Connect the dot activities.

Explore the letter R like reptile, T like turtle, etc.

Music and motor skills:

An obstacle course throughout which children must collect (or avoid) reptiles.

Use instruments to reproduce a rattlesnake sound.

Science:

Transform a sensory bin to represent a vivarium. Simply add soil, gravel, water, tree branches, etc. along with a few plastic reptiles.

LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES

Word flashcards

Use the cards to spark a conversation with your group or in your reading and writing area. They may also be used to identify your thematic bins. (Open word flashcards-Reptiles) Print. snake, lizard, iguana, gecko, vivarium, crocodile, turtle, chameleon, salamander, grass snake, eggs, marsh

Story and memory game-Reptiles

(Open story and memory game-Reptiles) Print, laminate, and cut out the cards. Arrange them face down on the floor or on a table. Children take turns picking three cards and using the illustrations to invent a story.

Trick: To solidify the cards, glue each one on the top of a frozen juice can.

ACTIVITIES FOR BABIES

Reptile manipulation

Take a few reptiles out of your animal bin and let little ones manipulate them. Name the different reptiles.

Catch the snake

Drag a jump rope across the floor (snake) and encourage children to try to catch it.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS

Reptile bean bag toss

You will need a large cardboard box. Glue four different reptile pictures on one face. Under each one, cut a hole, big enough to insert a bean bag. Invite children to try to toss bean bags through the holes.

It’s a strike!

Glue pictures of reptiles on empty 2-liter bottles of soda. Line them up like bowling pins and encourage children to make them fall by rolling a ball towards them.

Reptile obstacle course

Create a unique obstacle course, lined with pictures of reptiles that children must avoid or capture per your instructions.

Turtle race

Use adhesive tape to define a start and finish line. Show children how they can round their back to represent a turtle’s shell. For this race, the winner will be the last child to cross the finish line.

Live snake!

Use a jump rope. Zigzag it across the floor to represent a snake. Children must jump over it, without touching it.

Crocodile crossing

Set two ropes on the floor to represent parallel lines. Inform children that, between these two lines, there is a marsh filled with crocodiles. They must therefore jump over the marsh. Once all the children in your group have successfully made it to the other side, increase the distance between the ropes, making the marsh wider to increase the level of difficulty.

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Reptile hunt

(Open reptile hunt) Print, laminate, and cut out the different reptiles. Hide them throughout your yard (or in your daycare) and encourage children to search for them.

Beware of the crocodile

Divide your yard into two equal sections by drawing a line across the center. One child is the crocodile who must try to capture the others when they attempt to cross the marsh. To begin, have your group stand on one side of the line and sing the following song:

I walk, I walk, I walk

Hoping I won’t see the croc

I swim, I swim, I swim

Hoping I won’t get captured by him

At the end of the song, children try to cross over to the other side without getting captured by the crocodile. If the crocodile touches a child, he or she is eliminated. The last child remaining wins.

Hiding chameleons

Organize a simple game of hide-and-seek at a nearby playground or wooded area. Invite children to hide like a chameleon, choosing a hiding spot that is the same color as their clothing.

ACTIVITIES INVOLVING PARENTS

A trip to the pet shop

Ask parents to collaborate so you can organize a trip to a nearby pet shop and provide children with the opportunity to observe various reptiles.

Let’s visit the zoo

Ask parents for their help and organize a trip to the zoo. If this is not possible, you may also hire a specialized company who will bring reptiles right to your daycare.

(Open educ-math-Reptiles) Print and laminate for durable, eco-friendly use. Children must count the objects in each rectangle and circle the corresponding number.

Snakes

(Open game-Snakes) Print and laminate. Before children arrive, hide the snakes in your sandbox. When you go outside to play, invite them to search for the snakes. Every time a child finds a snake, he or she must shout, “Snake!” before showing it to the other children.

MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Snake mascot

Cut a leg off a pair of tights. Fill it with fabric scraps (or tissues). Sew the end closed and decorate it. Make it look like a snake by adding eyes and a tongue. Use this snake as a mascot throughout the theme.

Moving reptiles

As you move from one area to another, move like different types of reptiles. Crawl across the floor like a turtle, slither and whistle like a snake, or use your arms to represent a crocodile’s jaw.

Prickly or not

Collect several different objects with a wide range of textures (hairbrush, sponge, comb, feather, etc.). Divide your group into pairs. Have one child from each pair pick an object and rub it on his partner’s hand. The other child must describe the feeling (it’s prickly, it’s soft, it’s nice, it’s uncomfortable, etc.). Once all the objects have been manipulated, children exchange roles.

EARLY SCIENCE

Rattlesnake

Give each child an empty toilet paper roll. Seal one end using adhesive tape. Fill each roll with a different type of material before sealing the other end. Children can shake the rolls to see which material sounds most like a rattlesnake.

Warm blooded, cold blooded

Explain how reptiles are cold blooded animals, whereas mammals (like us) are warm blooded. Experiment with your group to identify things that are hot and cold such as water, the air from a hairdryer, a towel that has just been taken out of the dryer, etc.

Add marshmallows and stir until they are completely melted and texture is homogeneous. Remove from heat to avoid burning.

Add vanilla. Mix.

If you wish, add a few drops of green food coloring.

Add cereal and stir.

Butter a 12-inch (30 cm) pan. The smaller the pan, the thicker your crocodile bars will be. The pan can be round, square, or any other shape.

Press the mixture into the pan using a buttered spatula. Place the pan in the refrigerator and allow mixture to cool for approximately 30 minutes.

ARTS & CRAFTS

My 3D turtle

(Open turtle model) Print the front and back of the turtle’s shell. Have children color and decorate the pieces as they wish. When they are done, assemble the two parts by stapling the contour of the shell, leaving the top open so children can stuff the shell with newspaper or cotton balls. Glue the head and legs on the body.

Filter turtle

Give each child a coffee filter. Turn it upside down (bottom at the top). Have them glue pieces of construction paper on it to represent a turtle’s scales. Once dry, encourage them to draw eyes (or glue wiggly eyes) to complete their turtle.

Turtle drum

Give each child two paper plates. Have children fill one with rice before setting the other one on top of it and stapling them together. Have children paint the plates to make them look like a turtle. Have them glue a construction paper or Fun Foam head and legs on their turtle. Organize a turtle drum parade up and down your daycare corridors or in your neighborhood.

Our giant snake

You will need several paper plates (one for every two children). Cut each plate in half and remove the middle portion, leaving a “C-shape”. Provide arts & crafts materials that children can use to decorate their “snake section”. When they are done, arrange the sections end to end on a wall. Add a construction paper head and tongue to complete your giant snake.

My snake spiral

You will need a paper plate or a construction paper circle. Use a marker to draw a spiral on it, leaving approximately 4 cm between the lines. Invite children to color the plate and cut along the line. Hang your snake spiral from the ceiling.

Reptile stained glass

Draw a turtle or lizard shape on adhesive paper. You can set a reptile model under the sheet if you don’t want to draw it freely. Provide scraps of construction paper or tissue paper. Have them press them all over your adhesive reptile. When they are done, press another piece of adhesive paper on top and hang your thematic stained glass in a window.

Crocodile teeth

You will need an egg carton for each child. Separate both sections and have children set them facing each other to represent crocodile teeth. Have children paint them using white poster paint. Have them paint the top and bottom with green poster paint and add two additional single egg carton sections on top to represent crocodile eyes. Use pipe cleaners to asssemble your crocodile parts.

Textured lizard

(Open models-Lizard) Print for each child. Have children cut out their lizard and paint it using brown or green poster paint. Add salt, sand, or glitter to the paint for an interesting texture.

Craft-Rattlesnake

(Open craft-Rattlesnake) Print for each child. Have chidlren cut out the shape, color it, and glue it on an empty paper towel roll. Close off one end of the tube with a piece of cardboard and tape. Pour rice into the tube until it is half full. Have children hold it for you while you close off the other end. Children will love shaking their rattlesnake!

Mr. Snake sock puppet

Have children stuff an old sock using newspaper scraps. Seal the end using a piece of string. Help them glue wiggly eyes on their snake along with a felt tongue, stripes, spots, or other designs. You could even use hot glue to add a few tiny bells to turn their stuffed snakes into rattlesnakes. Encourage children to name their snake.

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